New to this, What breed of meat chicken should I get?

[Brunty_Farms]

 

[Chick Charm]

You do have choices other than cornish x. You can raise freedom rangers. They still grow pretty fast. And aside from the generally excepted meaties you can choose some of the bigger breeds and feed them well to get great meat birds. The upside to doing this is avoiding some pretty heavy genetic modifications. The downside is that they take longer to mature and usually do not get as big.

Some breeds like Plymouth rocks fed a high protein diet will get pretty big by 18 weeks. Other breeds like Orpingtons and RIR can get pretty big also. They just take longer than any cornish x or freedom ranger.

Hope this helps.

 

[bigredfeather]

Quote:
Just wondering, how is this an upside? They have not been genetically modified. They have been selectively breed. Big difference!
Sorry, not trying to turn this into another one of "those threads", just curious what you mean by that.

 

[eKo_birdies]

Quote:
Just wondering, how is this an upside? They have not been genetically modified. They have been selectively breed. Big difference!
Sorry, not trying to turn this into another one of "those threads", just curious what you mean by that.

X2...

the CX was developed to thrive in certain conditions just as individual cultivars of commonly consumed food crops have been selectively bred to perform in certain conditions.

ETA neither of which perform too well at my altitude of 8,000 ft

 

[Country Parson]

There are genetically modified chickens, but it is my understanding that these are not currently used in the meat industry. The genetically-modified chickens are used by bio-pharmaceutical companies (the chickens have been modified to produce special proteins that can be harvested from eggs for medical purposes). Others may know more about this, and I defer to them.

The current 'standard' meat chicken is the product of a highly selective breeding program. The result is an oddity that certainly would never survive in nature, but there is nothing (all things being equal) particularly harmful or unhealthy about it. It may not be as flavourful (IMHO), but it is still normal chicken meat.

The downfalls are minimal, such as leg & heart problems. Those I know who raise meat birds kill/process the birds before such problems can manifest themselves. I have found, however, that the CornishX's cannot handle heat/cold nearly as well as other chicken breeds (but keep in mind they were bred to be raised in indoor cage facilities, not the backyard). Most I know try to avoid raising theirs in the heat of mid-Summer.

I will be using the Rangers this Spring. This has less to do with meat, and more with gardening. I planned my garden design around using 4 chicken tractors to go in-between my garden rows. CornishX's are worthless for working the soil and weeding, and the Rangers are more active foragers. I need a meat bird that is willing to work a little before meeting his/her Maker!

 

[jessica32]

This summer was my first time to raise meat birds. I chose black broilers which I ordered from ideal poultry but, have seen advertised in other catalogs as well. I raised them with my egg layers without problem. They didn't seem to eat tons although I didn't keep records. I butchered them at 16 weeks and they were all between 4 - 5.5 lbs. I could have done them sooner with a good weight I think but, just didn't have time before that. They are tastey and tender. They free ranged well and knew how to scratch, forage and dust bathe like my other chickens. I had a pet cornish x that I got last year by accident. She did not ever get how to forage and scratch but, lived without health problems until this fall when her weight was too much for her and the bottoms of her feet broke down. I could not bring myself to eat her so can't attest to taste or texture. Hope this gives you some info. I too would like to hear about other breeds of chickens that are good meaties as I am planning to do more in the spring.

 

[bigredfeather]

Quote:
Just wondering, how is this an upside? They have not been genetically modified. They have been selectively breed. Big difference!
Sorry, not trying to turn this into another one of "those threads", just curious what you mean by that.

X2...

the CX was developed to thrive in certain conditions..........

What are these certain conditions?

 

[eKo_birdies]

Quote:
X2...

the CX was developed to thrive in certain conditions..........

What are these certain conditions?

factory farm conditions and all that come with them, in addition to being raised in tractors w/ 1.5-2 sq. ft per chicken, quick growth rate/finishing in 6-8 weeks, feathering out rates, etc

i'm not for or against CX.. they just don't really do the best in my environment

ETA: i didn't really think there was a question as to what ways the CX were bred to thrive in certain conditions.. sort of form fits function type of thing

 

[BookWorm243]

Thanks every one for the posts!
I don't mind waiting a little longer I am not saying people should not get cornish cross breeds . I am not trying to make any one mad but in my experience every time I have seen them and it might just be in this small town where chickens are just chickens they have leg problems. I have done so reading as well and it has been in a couple books and website that they do have problems unless they cared for very carefully. I have had chickens I have my laying/pet flock and am going to try showing some birds next year. I was just wondering if meat birds need anything extra. I am going to go with freedom rangers more than likely, where can I order them

? My meat birds will have to be able to go out a forage and be with my other free ranging flock so I need them to be able to keep up some what and be fully feathered. I really cant make sure they eat for 12 hours and then not for the other 12 because I have one feeder that they can get food from 24/7. I have heard of using barred rocks for meat at what age are they ready for processing?

Thanks

 

[CARS]

Quote:
What I do is on a day that I am around all day is keep track of how much feed they go through in a 12 hour period and only feed that amount every day. They have to forage for the rest if they are hungry

I usually re-measure every couple weeks because as they get older they do need more food. If they eat 4 pounds in that 12 hour period, that is what I give them for a couple weeks till I re-evaluate.

As far as your other questions about Barred Rocks, do a search on them in the Breeds, Genetics section. There are many threads about the pro/cons of all species as they apply to dual purpose (eggs/meat).